Letters for September 15, 2016

Our GOP mole

Re “Third way” (News, Aug. 18):

Dennis Myers is a closet Republican. His article should have been printed as an editorial and not on the news page. The italicized “or” in the article’s subtitle—“Nowhere is it required that voters choose either Trump or Clinton”—seems to encourage people not to vote for Clinton. It is also stupidly obvious: of course we can vote for anyone we want. The fact is, however, on November 8 either Trump or Clinton will be elected, not a minor party candidate.

I vote Democratic because on the issues I care most about (environment, public lands and wilderness, social issues, and health care), I agree with that party’s policies, legislative positions, and federal court appointments. Green Party positions are usually identical or similar, but I don’t vote Green Party because they won’t win, and I don’t want to make it one vote easier for a Republican to win. Anyone who thinks that Democrats are the same as Republicans is simply wrong.

The biggest problem in government and politics is the nearly unrestricted flow of campaign money from corporations and wealthy people, which distorts policies and legislation to benefit them at the expense of the rest of us. This was made possible by Supreme Court rulings in 2010 (Citizens United) and 2013 (McCutcheon), both decided with 5-4 votes. Reinstatement of campaign finance limits won’t be possible until at least one more liberal justice is appointed to the Supreme Court. That won’t happen unless a Democrat is president.

Finally, back to Dennis Myers’s bias. He states that independent/minor party candidate Ross Perot cost Bill Clinton’s opponents the elections in 1992 and 1996. That’s true only if a majority of Perot’s votes had gone to Clinton’s Republican opponents. In the next paragraph, he states Al Gore would have won the 2000 election if he had won his home state. Well, no shit, he could’ve won any other state and won the election. But in Florida, Gore lost by only 537 votes. If only 0.6 percent of Nader’s 97,000 votes had gone to Gore, Bush would never have been president. And we would’ve made progress on global warming, and we never would’ve had the Iraq war, the rise of ISIS, or Bush’s two massive tax cuts benefitting the wealthy. Mr. Myers’s logic is inconsistent, although in both cases (1992/1996 and 2000) it is biased against the Democratic candidate.

Michael Powell

Reno

TPPing point

The Obama administration will once again try to push the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement through Congress soon, and attempt to sweep the numerous problems with this trade agreement under the rug. It’s important that our community understands the impact of the agreement. The TPP would benefit corporate CEOs and investors at the expense of working people and consumers like you and me. The biggest corporations shouldn’t get special deals and expanded legal rights that throw existing standards and protections by the wayside. I’m against this policy because trade deals should improve the lives and living standards of working people both here and abroad. Labor Day should serve as another wake-up call to our elected officials: reject the TPP.

Paul Lenart

Reno

Habitat for gold

Right now the BLM decision to allow Canadian multinational Kinross Gold to continue the 80-year expansion of the Bald Mountain Mine [a Barrick Gold Corporation site in White Pine County] should be taken off the table. The fact is Kinross is a defendant in the Animas River accident in Colorado. Not only did they pollute the river but thousands of people downstream. I know some of you think the EPA is responsible, but they didn’t leave the pollution there and run off with the gold.

When are we going to learn suing the EPA is suing ourselves? U.S. citizens should be tired of picking up the bill when their careless corporate children make a big mess forcing mommy and daddy to pick up the bill and clean up after them. The fact is they can’t be trusted. If you want to save wildlife you must save habitat. The recent Overland Pass fire increases a continued downward spiral of Nevada’s largest migrating mule deer herd. The Mule Deer Foundation has been oddly quiet about this. Maybe they protect money more than deer?

Louis Friend

Reno